Under the sun, where we belong
by kawaii-kakashi
Summary: He navigates around him, draws one shaky breath, tries to remedy the time that for a second stopped somewhere around the movement of his shoulder blades through the thin fabric of his shirt. He knows that it's forbidden, and he knows that he won't change. Kakanaru.
1. Intro

**Chapter one**

His laugh arose through the noises of happy villagers, it was heard all the way to the booth where the somewhat more calm teachers both had taken a place. Iruka had heard it too and chuckled.

"I'd tell him to calm down, but I can't bring myself. What he did today was fantastic. He has the right to be a little loud and obnoxious."

Kakashi mumbled something, looked down on the smooth surface of the table, worn down from hundreds and hundreds of plates and hands and glasses and wishes and elbows that took the weight of heads heavy with despair. He felt a little tug at his consciousness, Iruka eyed him, now concerned.

"Are you alright?"

He felt the need to respond, to make out an excuse that seemed somewhat credible.

"I'm just a little tired. I guess I'm getting old..." and smiled a humble smile as if to say that he didn't believe it himself but he wouldn't mind if the other man agreed. Iruka smiled too, knowingly, that neither believed it, went along with the ploy for the sake of simplicity, didn't want to burst the bubble by inquiring.

"I can't believe how much of his father he has become. He has grown so much." Iruka paused, as if to test the friendly ice between them, to see if it would hold before he continued. Kakashi didn't add to the conversation, felt the control over his thoughts slowly diminish, knew that if he opened his mouth right now he'd surely regret it in one way or another.

Another glance in his direction told him that Iruka thought he was acting strange, he didn't care, at least pretended not to. He could think whatever he wanted.

"You know, you should be proud. He looks up to you a great deal. Of course he'd never say so himself, but I know he does. I can see it. He listens to you."

Kakashi snorted.

"Well not always, but most of the time anyway."

He looked away, had nothing to say, clenched his jaw, wished Iruka could get to the bloody point so he could go home without being rude. He had no intention of making this a night out. He wanted to get back to his bed, to the calm and silence.

"You practically raised him. As I said, you should be proud."

Was he _drunk?_ He might be. He counted the glasses next to him. Three. Hm. Whatever he said next was the important thing, he knew him so well, could sense it on him like the scent of spring one sudden winter day.

"I think he-"

"Iruka-sensei!"

Damn it, you… He didn't need to look up to know who it was that had joined them, he would have known the presence anywhere, was so acutely aware of him. Naruto never seemed to acknowledge the elephant in the room, probably because nine times out of ten, _he_ was the elephant.

"Iruka-sensei" he repeated, just like a child who wanted to be sure that their parents were listening. The other man grinned, was so proud, if he had been annoyed to get interrupted he did his best not to show it.

"I heard that was quite some battle out there."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure I could do it at first. They were quite strong."

Kakashi had been looking up politely, like it was expected of him, their eyes met for a while.

_Please don't-_

"Kakashi helped as well."

_Don't_.

This was embarrassing.

"Oh, I barely did anything. You deserve all the honour."

Naruto looked disgruntled, about to argue, his usual expression. By now he knew them so well...

"I'm a little worn out from running around all day." An obvious lie. "I think I'll call it a night."

"But-"

He got up quickly, Iruka stayed seated while Naruto took a step away, gave him space.

"Talk to you tomorrow."

He knew his tone was short, couldn't help it, forced it not to leak any warmth in his direction. He turned around, hadn't gone more than half a meter when someone said his name.

"_Kakashi._"

Not Iruka. He didn't stop walking, stop leaving. He wondered when he'd stopped calling him "-sensei". When he'd become so damn close. He had to tell him off, had to be a little cold. He knew the conversations around them had stopped, it was quiet in their corner.

"Watch your language, Naruto-kun."

The evening air felt good against his skin, he hated to put him in place, during all these years he'd done it maybe once or twice. He hated being harsh but it was better to play it of like he was a scatter-brained kid who didn't know better. True, he was hardly a kid any more, but it still felt as if he was, he could never see him as eighteen or nineteen or even twenty, he was still small and fragile and wanted to become hokage_ so bad_ that it was all he could think about.

_Damn it._

He had surpassed him a long time ago, his strength ridiculous in comparison. And yet he treated Kakashi as if he was still able to teach him anything.

_I haven't been able to teach you __**anything.**__ Why are you still being friendly? _

_Don't waste your time on me. _

_Don't you know a lost cause when you see one?_


	2. The War

**Chapter two**

He thought about when he was younger, rushing through the forest with Obito and Rin, never stopping to wait for them, so absorbed with the vision of his victory, the last thing he wanted to do was to wait for Obito who, quite frankly, was slow.

And then the accident happened and all the things that followed inevitably became stained with the feeling of having your future taken from you. What used to be impossible had now become a reality, just as likely as coming home was it now to never come home. No one cared about the new recruits, not when much more reliable men were dying left and right. No one had the time to make sure all the kids came home again.

Because when it came down to it, they were nothing more than kids, sent out to reclaim the honour their parents had died to protect. He, Kakashi, was younger than most but he didn't mind. He thought that he possibly had an advantage, all the older people had so many other things on their mind, they thought that they fought for people instead of what was right. The entire war was backwards, you wanted to protect your family so you went out of your way to kill the neighbour village instead.

But what about their families? What about their dreams?

What about all the little children playing in the water puddles left by the rain?

What about them?

He went to sleep feeling uneasy.

He was in Konoha, but the city was now distant and in the North. Everybody was the same but there was so much snow. No one seemed to notice it as it seeped in through the cracks in the walls and the kids used it to build snow men inside, some even tried building an igloo on the living room floor. All the adults laughed and simply walked around them, he tried to point out the fact that the snow kept climbing higher and higher and soon they wouldn't be able to even open the doors, but to no avail, they kept living and laughing and playing cards and it snowed and snowed. One day Naruto barged in through a window, which was now covered with snow, he cracked the glass with a shovel and a lot of snow fell down on the floor but it didn't seem to affect him. Kakashi was in the middle of his breakfast and asked what he wanted and Naruto answered loudly that he was going to become the first Hokage of the Snow. Then he woke up.

He sat up.

Confused. Cold.

His vision cleared slowly as he blinked.

Yawned.

Pulled the mask up with an unconscious movement, he did it as swiftly as he breathed.

Today was going to be a long day, he could tell from the atmosphere, as ominous as the humming in the air before a knife impales its mark.

He threw together a breakfast from yesterdays left-overs, still almost asleep, he hadn't slept well though by then he had forgotten what he dreamt. He plopped himself down on the rickety chair, ate slowly, neatly. He finished the food down to the last crumble. By then Konoha had woken up, he heard the sounds of other people becoming aware of the new day, of their hopes and plans.

Half an hour later he walked down the street, nodding once or twice to someone he knew. He was rarely in the village, had given up on teaching, focused on missions that required total control, that allowed him to give himself up, he even dabbled in ANBU's mission sometimes, naturally beneath a front of doing a normal S-rank.

When he'd first requested to get a mission instead of teaching Tsunade had been reluctant. Her eyes bored into his.

"Why?"

"..."

_I can't be here._

_I can't stay here. _

_I can't-_

"The last class you had were successful. Is there a reason for this sudden change of heart?"

She wasn't an idiot. Neither was he.

"I feel like my abilities would be put to better use out in the field. And I'm not denying that at least two of them became splendid shinobi. But all three of them were special." He took care not to mention Sasuke's name. It was still a touchy subject. "I think both you and I know that there won't be a group like that again, at least not in my lifetime. It feels as if I've done my part. It would be better for the recruits to have a teacher that was more adept for actually teaching."

They were quiet. Outside you could hear the birds chirping, telling tales of flying. The air itself stood still.

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

Tsunade searched his eyes, could find nothing that strayed from what he had said.

She took a file from the desk, held it out.

"A-rank. The situation is critical."

He took it from her, waited for further instructions.

There was none.


	3. Argument

**Chapter three**

He felt like being alone, and so he headed towards the right wing of the building and went to the room at the end of the hall. The door was unlocked, as he'd left it.

His office was dusty, he barely spent any time there. He had never understood why they'd given him one in the first place, since he was away so much. He'd asked Tsunade but she'd never answered. He didn't have any pictures. Some writing equipment was in a drawer. He couldn't remember that he had put them there.

None of the drawers had files in them. Naturally, considering his work. When he passed away, there would be no one there to clean up the mess, simply because there would be no mess. He would leave the world in an orderly fashion, in death finally nameless.

He ran a finger through the dust on the surface of the desk. Drew a little wave and then the ANBU sign, almost rolled his eyes at the fact that the swirled logo was the best that he could do in his attempt to be artistic. He wiped off the dust so that it now instead was a clean circle in the middle. His hand was dusty but he wiped it off on his pants, a gesture he knew people found irritating but that he gathered a little pride from keeping, a little pat on the back for his defiance. Normally it was blood that he wiped off his hands.

"I knew I'd find you here."

Him again. Some people never knew how to give up.

"Why are _you_ here?"

"Why are you so mad at me?"

He knew he had to turn around and face him. Of all the countless battles he'd fought, this was the one of the harder.

As he'd suspected, he was more upset than angry.

"I'm not mad at you. I merely told you to watch the way you speak." He tried to sound solemn, like it wasn't a big deal. It didn't go that well.

Naruto could tell he was lying but didn't know why. Kakashi saw him take a big breath, gulping in air to release whatever was nagging at him, the now broad shoulders tense, he looked grown up, finally ready to take on the weight of speaking his heart.

"Bullshit. You've been this way ever since we came back home. Tell me what happened."

_You._

_You happened._

"…Nothing. Nothing happened."

He glared at him, mad for not telling him, mad for not being trusted. He lowered his gaze, like the anger had vanished in a snap.

"If it's the way I addressed you, then I'm sorry."

_Don't apologise._

"I don't want people to think..." He stopped, thought the better of going down that road. "Jiraiya taught you better than that."

It was a cheap shot but it worked.

He sank a little in his shoes. Kakashi felt his heart rupture beyond repair, it felt as if it had opened wide and was leaking out across the floor, endlessly flowing out from him, in disgust of causing so much pain just to save his own skin. He knew that he was making a bigger deal out of it than necessary but he had to make him back off, had to put distance between them, couldn't afford not to.

"You know, it feels like yesterday that we went to eat ramen. I can't believe he's gone."

"He cared for you very much" he said, in a futile attempt to comfort. He knew, just as well as anyone, when it came to losing a friend there were few words that would make it better, if none at all.

A gloomy silence made itself known. "How did you know where my office was?"

Naruto snapped out of it, looked around as if he hadn't really cared to before, took in the dust and the grey walls, the anonymous view through the window. "Oh, I asked if anyone had seen you."

He had wanted to see him so he had asked for him. Kakashi tried not to make anything endearing out of it. He had wanted to talk to him, that was it. _Don't get ahead of yourself. _

Ebisu walked past the open door, then backed up and nodded towards Kakashi. Or both. "Kakashi-san. Naruto-kun. Tsunade-sama wished to see you as soon as possible but she didn't know where you were. Did you forget that you would meet her today?

"Ah, no. Of course not." (He had indeed.)

Naruto looked puzzled. "She wanted to meet me too?"

"Yes. Are you busy?" Ebisu glanced at them both, seemingly unsure what to make of their endeavour in the old office. "It seemed to be quite urgent."

"Well we'd better go then. Nice seeing you, Ebisu."

"You too."


	4. Mission

**Chapter four**

They walked in silence to the big office upstairs, where Tsunade reigned.

Despite her getting older there was no mistaking the fire in her eyes.

"You're late." She said and her eyes narrowed. "Good morning Naruto."

"How come you nag at me but not at him?" He asked, trying to ease the tension in the room, clearly joking.

"Him I still have hope for. You on the other hand..."

"That's harsh."

"Are we going to argue over your attitude towards administrative duties or are you going to shut up and let me speak?"

He was quiet.

"Good. There's a very urgent matter that needs seeing to, imminently. I've called you both here because you both are very experienced and also because we're spread a little thin right now. I also believe that you, Naruto, have previous experience in this precise matter."

The young shinobi raised his eyebrows and tried to figure out what she could possibly mean.

"Last night someone stole a much valued artefact from our village, the Scroll of Seals, no alarms or signs of a break in could be reported. It was a guard that noticed it early this morning, purely by coincidence..."

The Scroll of Seals, or just "the scroll" was a very old and very important document from the early days of Konoha. He guessed that the incident Tsunade referred to with Naruto had been when he was younger and had managed to steal it. It was then he had learned his infamous Kagebunshin no jutsu, which had followed his path ever since. Eyewitnesses reported a countless amount of spiky-haired shinobis that had fought to save Iruka-senseis life that night. True, even then he used to make a ruckus. Some things never changed…

"Kakashi? Am I boring you?"

"Definitely not."

Damn it, pay attention.

"Anyway, everything points towards the fact that it was an inside job, someone who knew the security, the layout, the routines of the ones normally guarding it. We've already checked the enlisting of all those who were there both yesterday and up to four weeks back. All personnel has been accounted for. This is where you come in, Kakashi, we need you to use Pakkun and see if you can catch a whiff of whoever did this. Then, obviously, follow the trail wherever it leads, and if possible simply bring it back. I want this done as soon as possible, we can't risk this coming out."

She looked weary. The ominous air got thicker. Konoha couldn't handle another war.

He looked to his left. Naruto didn't speak.

Tsunade continued. "I know it's standard procedure to send either a team with only one man or four men but this is a very delicate situation and I believe that four eyes are better than two. I would have preferred to have someone with medical training with you but Sakura is away and I can't just run off with you, it'd look suspicious so you have to make do. Any objections?"

Kakashi was once again struck with how responsible she had become, so stern and with such clarity.

"It is incredibly important that we keep this quiet, the scroll is invaluable and the information in it will easily bring this entire village to its knees."

A tiny, haunting exchange of glances in between the three. "I'm trusting you."

Naruto nodded, once.

They agreed to reunite within ten minutes in front of their old training grounds. The fewer people that saw them leave, the better.

* * *

Packing didn't take him long, so used to it by now, he made his way down to the flat field and the surrounding forest. Naruto wasn't back. The ninken on the other hand appeared swiftly and began scoping out the surrounding area. He told them to get a general direction of the thief and they scattered.

He felt his chakra before he saw him or even heard him, it had a salacious, airy feel to it. Kakashi who was so accustomed to it sensed it from far away. He tried sending out a waft of his own chakra to send him in the right direction from the start. He didn't have especially high hopes though- Naruto had, despite his uncanny ability to fight, never acquired more than a basic sense of chakra and the manipulation of it. He had been given refined tools but not the _feel _for it, and essential clue to his fighting style. His entire being was shrouded in warmth, faint but unrelenting like a fire seen from far away, telling people "here I am".

When he showed up in the clearing he looked concentrated, bordering on glum. He was not happy to be out here but recognized the necessity of it and therefore kept his mouth shut. Kakashi thought about the years that had passed. They hadn't spent this much time together since they had been teacher and student.

"Konohamaru managed to follow me, even beyond the border of the forest but I think I managed to shake him off there." He looked a little happier at the prospect of the third hokages grandson improving to such an extent that he could now follow him without causing a commotion. Kakashi wanted to ask if he'd raised suspicion but didn't.

Naruto continued: "I don't think he understood what kind of mission I was going on, he does this a lot. It's still a game..." They both took a second to think about other games they both had played in their youths.

Naruto stretched and ruffled his hair a little, he'd cut it a tiny bit shorter but his hands weren't used to it, those few centimetres still made a difference with their absence. He looked a little lost. It had been a while since he had stopped wearing the usual eye-catching black and orange full body suit, now he wore a mix of different official uniforms. With a surge of lust Kakashi realized he donned the latest version of the ANBU-pants, close-fitting and black, showing off the muscles in his legs, he forced himself to look away to keep himself from staring. Everything connected to ANBU felt like his own, it was like he'd worn a pair of _his_ pants.

To his relief Bisuke came back at that exact moment, reporting that Pakkun had caught an unknown scent leading out of the village.

"Allright" he said and looked Narutos way too see if he had heard, which it seemed he had.

"Let's go."


	5. Here I Am

**Chapter five**

Pakkun was waiting north-west of the main gate. He nodded once in Naruto's direction but then forgot about him. "It's faint," he said, "they knew what they were doing, which way the wind was blowing, used it to their advantage so that it would leave as little evidence as possible."

_Alternatives: knowledge of tracing, possibly of tracing by smell. Did they suspect they were followed? Traps? Had they accounted for the use of ninken? If yes, did they suspect that **he** was coming? Was this a decoy? _

"Are you sure there were no other trails?"

Bisuke, that had showed them the way to Pakkun, shook his head.

"We should be prepared for traps." he said, and released all ninken except Pakkun. It took chakra to maintain them and he started to suspect this mission would eat up everything he had and more.

"They have at least six hours head start."

They followed Pakkun without speaking, all three of them hurried but didn't rush. This was a time you could not afford to miss anything.

When he thought of it, this was the second time he'd been on a mission with himself and only one other person. The first time had been when he'd been working for ANBU. It was an S-rank with Tenzō, an infiltration and assassinate. By then Kakashi had become a reliable employee, a valued shadow. Tenzō showed promise and it was up to him to show him the ropes. From the very start he was calm, collected, and he knew instantly that they would get along. The mission had taken longer than anticipated, instead of a month it was going on six. They evolved, blended in, did as the locals did, pulled their shirts up to cover their necks and chin, at first from the mosquitoes but then as the year progressed, to keep the icy cold wind from making it under their clothes. It was a habit neither one of them was able to discard, by then it was so securely ingrained into their bodies. And at the end, when the mission went so wrong, Tenzō hadn't hesitated. That was a definite difference between his two companions- where Naruto doubted, Tenzō did not.

Kakashi assumed something had happened in his past, causing him never to ask questions, simply obeying. He'd been like that himself too. It was easier on yourself, it almost allowed you to meet the eyes in the mirror. "I only followed orders. I didn't make the call." It was true that neither of them was responsible for any long-term goals within the operational strategy, but they were still the ones holding a knife. Just as the thing with Obito- sometimes the "right" thing to do was so inherently wrong that it ached in his body.

He didn't blame Tenzō for doing everything by the books, for trusting those who made the calls. If he could, he would too.

* * *

They stopped by a slowly flowing river, yet no change in the nature surrounding them. Kakashi held up a hand, covered his eyes and looked at where the sun was headed. It was straight above them.

"Do you want to eat something?" he asked Naruto, who was down by the water, drinking and then filling up his water bottle.

"No, I'm good. I'd like to go for as long as possible before pausing."

Kakashi nodded in agreement, he too felt the nervous urge to keep running, anxious not to lose anymore ground to the thieves.

Pakkun was still in the tree, had instantaneously nodded off on a thick branch, he did his best to recuperate at any given moment.

"Pakkun. We're ready."

Judging by his alertness, he hadn't been sleeping after all. Kakashi and Naruto joined him in the ocean of leaves and watched him as he skipped from one branch to the next, sniffed for a scent and found it, and they were off again. The pace was somewhat calmer now, effective but one they could keep for hours if need be.

Pakkun first, Naruto second and Kakashi last, listening intently around him.

* * *

Since things had ended like they did, he and Minato had kept in touch, even after he left for ANBU, though then their talks were far apart. He'd eaten many dinners at his place, Kushina loved to cook and he was grateful for the chance to eat a proper home-cooked meal. He was rarely home and when he was he never cooked. He _could _of course, but he never bothered. He despised the kitchen because more than anything he hated eating alone. And so he didn't, instead he became a regular at the food-stand closest to his home.

He didn't like to intrude but he always felt welcome at Minato and Kushinas place. She was a swift cook, and he admired the way she moved about in the kitchen after deciding what to make. She eyed him suspiciously.

"You've lost weight again. What could they possibly be feeding you in ANBU to make you look like that?"

He shrugged, apologetic, knowing that she meant he should look after himself better.

"I've been away and it took a while to get used to the local diet..."

He didn't dare specify but knew they understood that. She put a plate with fried rice in front of him.

"I hope it's okay, you looked so hungry that I thought I'd whip something quick together."

He thanked her and told her that it was more than enough, and he meant it. They weren't that much older than him, but it almost felt like having a family. He was so grateful for the place they had made for him in their lives.

It was that evening that he noticed there was something going on, something more, beyond the usual routines. He was sitting opposite them both, they shared a side of the table as usual in the evenings, and they _looked_ at each other and Kakashi looked away. He couldn't take the intimacy of it without feeling ashamed, like gawking at something clearly private. It wasn't flirtatious or insinuating, but so direct. It made him unbearably sad that no one might ever look at him like that. Their eyes had a quiet conversation, never ending exclamations of their worth.

_There you are._

_Here I am._

* * *

A week later, after a particularly easy mission, he knocked at their door again. It was lunch time and he figured there would be no one home, but wanted to check just in case. Minato opened.

"Hi there." He smiled, an easy honest smile. "Come on in!"

Kakashi mumbled a greeting, for a moment young again, shy at the prospect of being alone with his sensei, but he hurried after him.

"Please take a seat." Kakashi sat down.

"Kushina is away so I'm fixing lunch today."

"Now that is something you don't see everyday." Kakashi said and smiled, knowing that his teacher was quite lost in the kitchen.

The remark didn't affect him though as he rummaged through the contents of their fridge.

His movements with the knife were somewhat insecure, still not sure of how much pressure would suffice.

"Oh, I figured it was time, you know?"

Kakashi didn't know but figured there would be an explanation.

"...now that the baby is on the way."

_The baby_. It took a second for his brain to catch on. _Baby, child._

Minato had turned around, clearly awaiting his reaction, his smile hesitant at first but bigger once he saw his joy.

"Wow, congratulations."

Kakashi felt a deep happiness wash over him, a feeling so existential he hadn't even known he was capable of.

Minato turned back to the chopping board but kept talking about this and that, clearly relieved to have it out in the open. There was a stop in the conversation and Kakashi took the chance to keep it going.

"What are you making?" he asked.

He didn't reply, just put the pot down on the table and smiled, proud of his culinary accomplishment.

"I made ramen!"


	6. What did we fight for

**Chapter six**

They ran, made another two short stops, and didn't slow down until the sun started setting. Kakashi stopped next to a group of boulders and called Pakkun. The dog inhaled as if he sampled the very molecules.

"It's a bit stronger than before, we're definitely headed in the right direction."

Naruto looked away into the distance, longingly, but didn't say anything.

"I know" Kakashi said about the tempting idea of travelling by night. "But we have to rest eventually and so do they. Unless they travel this road often and know it by heart, they won't risk going along in the dark only to get lost. This is the best alternative, for now."

He thought he heard a quiet, impatient sigh from his direction but chose not to comment it. It bugged him to play the role of the wise old man but it was for the best.

He heaved off his backpack and leaned it against a sturdy-looking rock. After some digging he found two pre-cooked meals, packed in vacuum-tight bags to take up as little space as possible. He took out a tiny flash-light and placed it on top of his bag, by then it was almost dark, especially in the little dark corner they were in. There were large boulders on three out of four sides, giving them relatively good protection. It was two metres broad and six or seven metres long, like a hallway or simply a cave without roof.

Naruto had out his backpack on the side across from him. Kakashi stretched out the two bags.

"Which one do you want? We've got beef-flavour or..." he inspected the other bag. "What I think is pork-flavour."

Naruto reached out, snatched the one that said "beef" and it didn't take more than a few seconds before he grimaced.

"It's specially prepared to give you all the nutrients you need. But I can't say it's very tasty." Kakashi said and didn't know if he was meant to apologize.

It almost felt as if he'd dragged him out here, to the cold and distant forest. He heard the sound of Pakkun making himself comfortable above them. It was true that the ninken took chakra to maintain, but it felt like a necessary precaution. You could never be sure.

After the disappointing meal they both stretched out on the dry, dusty ground; Kakashi closest to the exit and Naruto in the corner. Sometime later he heard his breathing, now regular and automatic, he was sleeping. Youthful or not, travelling the entire day had a tendency to wear you out. Kakashi on the other hand was less affected. Nothing was more dangerous than thinking you were safe and letting your guard down. He knew that along with a lot of other things that tumbled through his head. The best time for making your play at the enemy was around 4 am when people slept the soundest. He thought about the countless hours of training, sharpening his skills, throwing knives and leaping over hurdles...

* * *

He'd slept surprisingly well. As he took a minute to get used to existing again, Naruto started moving next to him, almost like a cat.

_Or like a fox,_ he thought.

He heard how he took something out of his bag, heard its content whirling around, Naruto drank it.

"Do you want some?"

The question was clearly meant for him so he sat up.

"Sure, thank you."

He took a mouthful and instantly felt more awake. He handed it back to Naruto who looked surprised.

"Do you even _sleep_ with that thing?"

He clearly wasn't awake enough, half-heartedly looked around for a clue as to what he was referring to.

"...with what?"

"The mask" Naruto explained and touched his own cheek as if to check if he had one too.

"This?" He felt a little self-conscious. "Yes, well I guess so. Only when I'm sleeping outdoors though."

He looked at him as if he suspected there was a story behind it but it wasn't the right time and so he didn't ask.

Kakashi handed him a new, almost tasteless bag-breakfast and he saw a shiver of reluctance on his lips, a quiet _I am opposing this _that was only suffocated due to the knowledge of there being nothing else.

He started on his own food, wishing he could give him something better to eat, that he could cook for him. Ramen, yakitori, gohan, stew, salmon, miso-soup and little onigiri-

He felt a longing, not unlike the one you get when you think about happy childhood moments, you know you can't them back, you know it's way too late not even to mention it's impossible but still, _still._

* * *

They left. Pakkun was pleased that there had been practically no winds during the night, he found their trail relatively easy. They ran quickly and the brisk morning air felt good.

A whole day's travel still hadn't brought on a change in nature, they were still in the forest, still in their country. He suspected it would take at least the following day as well. What he didn't understand was where the thieves were headed. North-west there was a few small countries. He couldn't think of a nation or an organization that had a direct motive. Indirect motives, on the other hand, there were a lot of. During the last wars Konoha had assumed a central position, which of course brought on enemies. Or it was someone with a personal grudge. He knew there was no point in speculating, that wasn't what they had been sent out here for.

It was strangely boring, their trip, he wanted to talk and make the time pass by quicker but was still a little hesitant, suddenly reminded of the years and differences between them.

The forest passed by under his indifferent gaze, had journeyed so many times that he knew that changes in the nature didn't necessarily mean changes in another way. People were always people, no matter how it looked around them.


	7. Who Are You

**Chapter seven**

When the sun set they did the same thing as the night before, only alteration was in Pakkuns attitude, which was now carefully optimistic.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think we are gaining on them. The scent is stronger than this morning."

"Good" Kakashi said, hoping that they would catch up sooner rather than later. Running around in a mindless game of tag did no one good. And the stakes were high.

The camp for the evening was situated at the base of a steep slope. Pakkun was at the top, keeping watch. Eventually it got dark enough to see the stars. He was pleased with this place, the ground was softer here, easier to sleep on.

"This pointless running is getting on my nerves" Naruto said, his voice coming out of the dark to his right.

"This is the worst part of any operation" he agreed. "The waiting."

The moments before a "planned" fight was nerve-wrecking, everything still hung in the air, fate yet to be decided, or perhaps more correctly, you were still unaware of it. Actively pursuing someone was even worse, at the same time you wanted to find them you also did not, out of fear that fate might greet you with an unwanted surprise. He was experienced enough to avoid being affected by his nervousness, had fooled death enough times to see a way out. Not to say it wasn't an odd feeling, deliberately seeking out someone with a violent intent. As if he was running towards fate with his arms wide open_, _daring fate to catch him, and then avoiding impact at the last second. Hopefully. Though it had happened that he'd veered too late, and lost his life as a result.

_I could have died, _he thought.

Nay. He did die.

He never thought about it, as a rule. It was impossible otherwise. To get up, to start anew. It was impossible to properly function, to live, if he was aware of the fact that every moment might be his last. Dying had, contrary to what he had believed, not given him anything. He'd suddenly been dead, and then not-dead. There had been nothing in between, no maker or reincarnation or insight. He had stopped being only to somehow begin again, woefully far away from an enlightened existence. He was a little disappointed, though he'd never admit it, least of all to himself. Maybe cheated was a better word. How dead did you have to be to get some peace of mind? Some sense of understanding?

When he had woken up again, he'd sensed a ton of different chakras around him, and he could tell he was still in a war-zone because of how they felt; all were stagnant and in varying degrees of disarray, he felt their weight on him. He came to but had no idea of where he was or how he'd gotten there, feeling broken and awkwardly put together, everything within him unsure of how to function as one, not able to tell where one thought ended and another took off. He was weary, his head was empty, like a room with a bed that no one slept in. A little later he felt _his _chakra, so strong. Like when you've been sick in bed and go outdoors for the first time, that exact moment when you feel the sunlight on your skin. A sun that both warms you but also makes you close your eyes because of how bright it is. A sun both kind and cruel and unrelenting.

Next to him, Naruto had fallen asleep.

He had always cared for him, kept a watchful gaze upon him, a lot of the years only out of obligation towards his sensei, doing what he couldn't and all that, but recently it had become something else entirely, he'd been looking at him for the sake of looking at him. Being back in active duty had been a bliss. The city had been killing him, smothering him with old scenarios and countless hours of wondering or begging that something would stop him from feeling like he felt.

One time, _how long ago was it?_, he'd seen him as he walked down the streets, careless, looking so flamboyant, reassured of his place and worth and impact and it had felt like cold fingers up his spine, a bubbling desire made itself known, an irrevocable wanting of falling down with him, a ferocious need to make him shiver in his arms. For a moment he was abashed at his own thoughts, and he set out to object but had nothing to hold on to.

He watched as Naruto walked away from him, he kept advancing and soon he wasn't visible, he'd walked out of his life while Kakashi did nothing. He was chained by shackles woven out of secrecy and rules.

_Kakashi. Have you no shame? _

He looked for his bright hair in the crowd, for the clothes that he had picked for someone else's sake.

He had no shame.

Only hunger.

* * *

It was sometime around lunch and he knew it was going to rain before it actually started, felt the clouds pressing down on him, daring him to stay out in the open. At first it drizzled and they pretended not to notice. They sky gradually got darker until it looked more like the bottom of a well than the blue sky they were so used to. The rain intensified, got heavier, the drops turned to blotches and they got wet and cold, their clothes got soaked and the sight worsened.

"We should find somewhere to stay until it gets better" Kakashi said, louder than usual to get heard over the rain. Naruto jumped back towards him, clearly agreeing. The surrounding cliffs had a variety of little hollows and they cautiously made their way to under one of them.

"Damn it," Naruto muttered, took off his backpack and dug up one of his sweaters. He took off his jacket and rid himself of the wet t-shirt, Kakashi stared out into the rain, searched for shapes of friends or foes.


	8. Other people, other hearts

**Chapter eight**

"Hopefully the thieves will stop too" Kakashi said.

"Unless they're way past the rain by now" Naruto replied and thus took the words right out of his mouth.

"That might be true, but there's not a whole lot to do about it" he said and pulled on a sweater.

It was getting cold, the downpour extracting what little warmth was left of summer in the air.

Once again they sat down opposite each other. Naruto wrapped his arms around his knees and stared into the distance. Neither said anything, let the persistent sound of rain do all the talking. They sat like that for a while. The rainfall created curtains of grey that swept across the lands, as if moving in a breeze you couldn't normally see.

"This entire thing feels like when we were looking for Sasuke. Do you remember?"

Kakashi nodded, didn't want to interrupt, was desperate to finally get him to talk about how he felt.

"This entire set up- running around, searching, turning every rock until you finally catch a whiff..."

He wanted to ask him many things. _Did you care very much for him? _Or had he done it for Sakura, whom he had loved?

_Why do you go to such lengths, Naruto?_

"Well, then you succeeded. You brought him home." For better or worse.

Naruto looked down, his shaking hands turned into fists, ready to punch a hole through any untrue word. He meant what he said. Kakashi listened, he knew this was a sacred moment, he was about to tell him something that he'd been carrying for such a long time, it was only now that he was so far away from it, now that he had lost all connections back home, now that he no longer could imagine the sights that he spoke of that he could allow himself to let such things into the light.

"I loved her ever since I first saw her." He meant Sakura. He didn't have to say it, Kakashi didn't need to ask.

"She was the light of my life. But she didn't like me. She thought I was annoying and loud, but I did those things for her. I thought that maybe if I was loud, she'd notice me. I thought it was better to be noticed and thought of as annoying instead of never crossing her mind. It didn't matter what I did. She only had eyes for Sasuke, everything she did was for him. Every time I saw them together, my heart got hopelessly torn."

It hurt to hear him say those words, he hurt right alongside with him, wanted to patch him up, make him smile, take it all away.

_Do you still love her? _

He wished he knew what went on in his mind, he almost wished he still loved her, indefinitely and without a doubt, so that his own futile hope could go and die in a ditch somewhere. Because, as it was now, he couldn't keep himself from wondering, hoping, even for a second refusing to give up. A roulette with his emotions.

_What the hell do I do to quit you?_

Kakashi stood up, needed to stretch his legs and think of something else than Narutos distraught face. Naruto got up as well, maybe he thought they were on the way again.

He stood behind him. "Any change?"

Kakashi shook his head and leaned against the cave wall, Naruto chuckled, his bad mood gone or maybe put away by force.

"The things I'd do for some ramen..."

He laughed too, couldn't help it since he saw him smile, their little hideout felt warmer, less foreign.

"I could really do with a bed. I hate sleeping on the ground."

They continued like that for a while, Naruto talked about an old arm chair that he liked to sit in when it was cold and Kakashi talked about equally simple things, but deep down he didn't really mind being right where he was. All the furniture and comfort in the world didn't do a thing for him. At least not when _he _was around.

He was standing close, describing an episode with Sai and one of their competitions, Kakashi laughed, Naruto laughed, pleased, his breath smelled like rain and Kakashi crossed his arms to physically get a hold of himself. He'd been on the verge of loving him for a while now but never allowed himself to dwell on it for more than a moment, refused to think of that ravaging warmth inside him that threatened to make a blur out of anything that didn't touch his hands, out of anything that wasn't the same colour as clouded gold, all that which did not remind him of music or running until his legs faltered or coming home. If he wasn't careful he would forget everything, everything that did not devour him.

He felt a shiver like he was falling asleep but he might as well be dying, dying just when he was fighting to live.

* * *

Eventually the rain ceased and they hurried along. This far north the nature had changed and there were less trees, they were up in the highlands and the clouds gave no sun, no hope on improvement. They had been running for long, but every time they reached the horizon a new slope appeared farther away, mocking them on their littleness, because of how small they were compared to a hill that was created out of nothing more than mud and stone and rocks and it still managed to elude them. It tired them out.

Kakashi lost count on how many little hills they passed when it suddenly gave way to something entirely new; a massive mountain range spread out in front of them. It looked infinite, no end in sight, haunting. Its peaks were clad in white, slowly moving chaste clouds that only existed right where they were.

"This must be the Land of Earth," he said and racked his brain for a probable reason to bring the scroll there. He couldn't think of anything.

"I'm just glad we're finally here" Naruto said, looking tired.

Kakashi pulled out a general map of the north-west, cursed himself for not bringing a better one.

According to the map, pointed out by a red line that went between the squares, there was a trail that led somewhat directly to the ninja village. Though it did not seem to be the same trail that they had in front of them. They discussed for a while if it was better to look for the proper road or to head after the thief, and they had just agreed to the second alternative when Pakkun told them to be quiet.

"Something's coming." He listened in for a while. "It's something small. Most probably a carrier bird."

Just as he'd predicted it was a bird, a black one used for long distances.

"Isn't that...?" Naruto asked.

"Mm," Kakashi agreed and stretched an arm out for it to land on.

It was from Konoha, a proud one with big unforgiving eyes, one of Tsunades own fowls. He read the message with a sinking sensation in his stomach, the black wings always came with bad news. This time was no exception. He read it out loud to speed things up.

"She says at least three other villages has found out about the scroll and has sent shinobi in this general direction, secretly of course. Worst case scenario Land of Earth knows we're coming," he concluded and sighed.

"My, this became troublesome."

Almost all the villages had signed a covenant, stating that they would not attack nor use force when dealing with the other countries. It seemed that stealing valuable information from a neighboring village still was okay.

He read the letter again. "From what I gather they won't be showing up immediately. No one wants to look bad so they use smaller groups with less resources to track the thieves and thereby us. We probably have a day or two."

"So just because the scroll is no longer in Konoha that means it's fair game?" Naruto muttered. "So much for signing papers," he continued, and Kakashi could do nothing but agree.


	9. A race against the rest

**Chapter nine**

A little path followed the mountainside downwards the valley and they began the climb. Neither Pakkun nor Kakashi could sense any people around. It felt as if they were the only ones in the world, as if it existed for their sake, to lure their bodies to get lost in the fog that got thicker for each passing minute. It took at least an hour to climb down, and when they looked back up you could barely see the contour of the mountain behind the white clouds.

Pakkun walked around, sniffing the ground, and then he said, "they were here not too long ago, the scent has been getting stronger but I wanted to be sure before I said anything."

All three looked at the path ahead of them, their gazes followed its twists and turns until it disappeared behind a crook.

"Well then, let's go!" Naruto said and tensed.

"Hold that thought," Kakashi replied. "You can't rush in looking like that," and nodded at his clothes with the Konoha symbols.

He lugged off his backpack and after some hasty digging managed to pull out two brown, ordinary coats.

"And put your headband somewhere safe."

He pulled his own off and packed it down. It felt odd without it, naked somehow, but he put the jacket on and pulled the hood up. There.

Naruto followed his example and soon they looked like two normal, weary travelers, simply looking for a place to spend the night.

Pakkun led the way.

* * *

At first the trail was flat and went on straight ahead, but it didn't take long before the mountain began closing in on both sides. The path narrowed until it only had room for one person. Now Kakashi had taken the lead, Naruto was in the middle and Pakkun last. They walked briskly, the air was cold and it was past lunchtime. On one side the mountain was replaced by a vast chasm. Far down you could see an endless forest of pointy mountain peaks.

"I take it this isn't the official road?" Naruto said lightly, knowing Kakashi would hear him.

"I don't think so. This is probably a short cut for those who wish to remain unseen."

They were silent after that, focusing only on putting one foot in front of another and not falling down. The trail began to go slightly upwards and after a while reached a plateau where they stopped to drink some water. It was a bother to carry full water bottles around but it paid off when you were in places where there was none.

"I don't think it's far left" he thought out loud.

Straight ahead, on the other side of the plateau, there were steps leading down. A sign that there was or had been people around. The steps were much easier to journey than the trail.

Kakashi ended up jogging downwards, as if in a trance not thinking just doing, step, another step, another step, another...

The end was so abrupt that Naruto nearly collided with him and had to grab his backpack to keep from falling.

"Do me a favor and tell me _before_ you stop next time-"

Kakashi held up a finger.

_Shh, listen._

They froze on the spot, barely breathing until Pakkun spoke.

"Definitely a town."

The mountain had once again closed in on the sides, it looked as if they were in a corridor, clearly man-made because of orderly it was. He looked ahead but couldn't see anything except a faint, orange sunlight. It was evening already.

They proceeded with caution, listening intently as they went along. The minutes ticked by until they reached the end. Now voices were heard clearly, some arguing, some happy.

Slowly, slowly Pakkun made his way out into the light. "We're on a backstreet of some sort. Quickly, there's no one here."

Despite the street being empty Naruto did his best to look inconspicuous. On one side the mountain went on but to the right there were little houses with high fences that kept them from being seen. _Hopefully, _he thought. At the end of the fence there was a side street. It led to a busy market corner, bristling with little shops and stands and people. No one paid much attention to them when they stepped out and mixed in with the crowd. All around them the mountain stood high, the city was surrounded on all four sides, like it was in a bowl. Here and there he glimpsed a headband with the Iwagakure symbol. In front of him Pakkun stopped and Kakashi picked him up to make it look less conspicuous to talk to him. They might be far from home where no one knew them but for now it was best to act as if he was a normal dog as Ninken were still unusual. Naruto stepped in closer to hear what he had to say.

"They're here, somewhere. I can smell them."

They both looked around, to no avail. No one looked particularly guilty. They continued down the street, Kakashi still holding Pakkun and Naruto took the chance to look around, letting himself get colored by new impressions and sounds and smells.

"That's one of them, the guy with spiky hair and blue jacket. The tall one," Pakkun said.

The man in question stopped and took a look at a store, were in no rush, seemed at peace. He didn't have a bag, nothing. So where was the scroll? Kakashi groaned.

"He has left the scroll already, either for safekeeping or a buyer. Dammit."

The man walked away and Kakashi followed him, kept some meters behind, they walked for a minute or two, instead of stands there were now houses, apartments, just like in Konoha. The suspect went in through a door with a guard outside of it. Kakashi followed the crowd, took a left and then a right and ended up in an alley.

Since they had guards outside that meant that there was a little chance that the scroll was in there, which was good news. It took a second for him to realize that Naruto wasn't with him, which was definitely bad news. He stood still for a few seconds, trying to think of what to do next when he appeared from behind the corner.

"There you are!" he said and smiled.

_How did he-?_

He must have looked questioningly at him because he added "I followed your chakra here."

"Ah, of course." He never ceased to amaze him, and he was indeed talented.

"I've never done it like this before, to follow someone, but it worked just fine." Learning by doing. As usual.

He was quiet for a moment. "Why are we here?"

Kakashi nodded towards the house on the other side of the street.

"With a bit of luck, the scroll is there."

Actually locating the scroll was the least of their worries but it was a start.

Next to him Naruto swayed a little. Kakashi grabbed his shoulder, steadied him.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, I'm just a little tired."

He hadn't really thought about where they would be sleeping and now his lack of planning came back to bite him. To make things easy Kakashi booked a room at a ryokan.

The elder man in the reception smiled at him. "Ah, you're lucky, this is our last room."

Kakashi fixed the futons and by then Naruto was practically sleeping despite standing up, and the second his futon was made he sank down on it, weary to the bone. It took another couple of minutes for Kakashi to get ready and then he too could finally lie down.

"Call me if you need me." Pakkun muttered. A quiet "puff" told him he was gone.

It wasn't that late and outside you could hear the towns night life waking up, the bars and drinkers and little bottles of sake and he knew there was something he had forgotten, something with the headbands, that much he knew...

His body took a deep breath, an indulging sigh. He slept.


	10. Leave us

**Chapter ten**

He heard someone moving in the futon next to him. He didn't think too much of it, had his mind too full of other things, dreams tainted his awareness like brisk breezes across the seas. Wearily he turned around so that he was on his side, the morning light tried to get him moving but he refused until a more sound part of his brain woke up as well. He stretched a little, carefully opened his eyes but not taking in the boring wall, opened them just because he had to, not caring about what he might find when he did.

Naruto was awake too, he heard it in his breathing, in the very air of the room, like when you know who it is outside the door. Nothing in the world belonged to him except the knowledge that he was awake. Another minute passed and with oxygen he was able to breathe. And then he sat up, shouldered his responsibilities for this day as well, aware of yesterdays remaining duties that were pressing down on him. He looked around the room, could barely remember paying for it the night before.

"Good morning," Kakashi said and yawned wide enough to hear a creak in his jaw.

"Mornin'," Naruto said and looked a little fragile as he nestled in under the cover. He was pale, maybe he was hungry but determined not to say anything, let anything on.

Kakashi got up, embarrassed to be drinking him in like he did, went to the bathroom and excelled at his usual morning routine because of the urge to leave the hotel and get some air. He got out only to find Naruto in nothing but his black pants, digging around in his bag, Kakashi approached the door and realized he should probably tell him where he was going.

"I'll just go out to get some breakfast." He was not going to eat another one of those pre-cooked meals.

"I won't be long. When I get back I think it's best if we go through what we know and what we'll do. But breakfast first."

He looked back at Naruto. The light that came in through the window was direct and made a sharp outline around him, where he stood, and fine particles of dust encircled him, as if they were revolving around a new sun in their lives. Naruto nodded slowly, yawned, now held a shirt in a firm grip.

_I wish I could live in this moment. _

He wished he could tell the thief to fuck off, that he could use the scroll as a napkin for all he cared if it meant that he'd never have to leave him.

"I'm off then."

"Yeah, bye."

Out there on the street he shook his head at his idiocy. A man in front of him had dark hair, cut in a peculiar way. It reminded him of Gai. He wondered what he'd say if he saw him. He chuckled as he realized that he knew exactly what he'd say.

"_Kakashi! Youth is a time of passing, enjoy it while it lasts!" _

Despite his generally boasting attitude Gai could be both insightful and eerily correct in sensing peoples moods, something Kakashi had learned the last time they had met. After their normal greetings and hashing out what they both had been up to, Gai suddenly had interrupted him in the middle of a sentence.

"What's bothering you, Kakashi?"

Was it that obvious?

The best defense is a good offense.

"What do you mean?" he said tensely, setting up a red flag. _Don't._

"You seem a little tired."

They had long ago stopped caring about whether they were tactful with each other, ever since their first high-stress mission with countless enemies and assaults they had dropped the formalities and never got them back.

"It's nothing. Work has been troublesome lately."

He'd probably heard how you rarely saw the copy ninja in the village these days, neither him nor his Icha Icha Tactics were anywhere to be found. Gai was silent for a while, knowing that the subject was mined and yet felt that it had to be said, out of line or not. He was concerned.

"Maybe you could take the weekend off, I know this great-"

He interrupted him, couldn't stand the thought of having to answer questions about his work, or worse, personal life.

"Maybe not." Meaning: I'm not discussing this.

And that was the last they spoke of it.

* * *

It was still pretty early but a lot of the shops were already open and he stopped by one of them to buy food. The lady behind the counter was a real chatter box.

When he got back Naruto had showered and, thankfully, put some more clothes on. The futons had been folded away, now there was a table in the middle of the room instead.

Kakashi had ordered rolled omelets and grilled fish and his mouth watered just by looking at it. It tasted even better, probably because of his hunger. They both wolfed it down, Kakashi even more so as he valued the privacy his mask brought him. They ate in silence, replenishing their strength.

"Ah, I feel a lot better. I've missed eating proper food."

Kakashi nodded. "Me too."

He took a second to breathe, get his thoughts in order, his words to say what he wanted them to say and not wander off on their own like they usually did.

"I spoke to some people that live here and it seems that the town is in a bit of a mess. Their kage, Onoki, is sick and they don't know if he'll make it." Kakashi didn't know him personally but he was bothered by what he'd heard; apparently the kage had been in bad health for a while. According to customs, if the kage was obstructed by illness to perform their duty he or she was supposed to choose a replacement, sooner rather than later to make the transition as smooth as possible. But that was not the case in this village. The kage had not found anyone fit for the role as leader and that was the main cause of the problem. There was supposed to be a summit _if _the kage passed away without selecting someone, which did nothing for their present situation. As a result of the uncertain state of things the village had seen a massive increase of hopeful applicants to the position as kage, and they in turn had brought their own entourages. They were all trying to impress the temporarily elected leaders.

He remembered what he'd thought of the night before, about the many shinobi with different headbands, and the amount of people without one at all. Well this explained it. It seemed discretion was important among the many stakeholders, a common reluctance to show their true colors. It wasn't only applicants from the Land of Earth, according to the woman he'd spoken to some of them came from countries even farther away than Konoha.

Kakashi ran out of new things to add and Naruto, who'd been mostly quiet until then spoke up.

"So, if I get this right, whoever stole the scroll is trying to use it in their favor to become tsuchikage?"

"Seems that way."

"And the first step to getting it back is...?"

He was taken aback at how brisk he had become but found that he liked it.

"We find out as much as we can about the thieves and where he's staying, which means surveillance. They have guards outside and I suspect that there's even more indoors." He thought for another while.

"I think we'll get a better grip on the situation once we find out more about who they are and what kind of power they have. Worst case scenario is that we go in and take it by force, which would definitely result in casualties."

It would be idiotic to rush in and cause an incident that might blow back on Konoha. Naruto looked down at the table, thinking.

"So first of all, surveillance?"

He nodded. "Yes. I think it would be good to try and rent a room close by."

* * *

An hour later they had payed for a room close to the thieves hideout, but on the other side of the street. The owner had another guest booked but money changed hands and he swiftly changed his mind. They made themselves comfortable and Kakashi summoned Pakkun.

He was not used to working with the ninja dog, on a normal mission when he was fighting he didn't have enough energy to summon him, keep the contract stable and at the same time retaliate. Here, where there was little strain on his body, he could keep him for longer periods of time. The dog showed up, grumpy looking, Kakashi ignored his frown.


	11. One for the road

**A/N: **Okay, so this chapter took a while. Sorry... I changed the last part of the previous chapter as I realized it was going off into a direction that I had not planned on, and so I had to rewrite it. If you don't want to skip back and check, the summary is this: Kakashi and Naruto took off on a super-secret spy mission, leaving Pakkun in charge of surveillance. A chapter this long surely makes up for the wait, right?

Also, I try to comment on all of your reviews and if I haven't I'm terribly sorry. Thank you all for sticking with me and for dropping by and leaving feedback, it truly means the world to me.

_Thank you!_

Very sorry for eventual typos.

* * *

**Chapter eleven**

Some time later they were on their way again, walking down the street, pretended not to notice the brown dog that was lying outside a window on the street. Pakkun didn't look like himself without his usual blue vest, he looked smaller, almost tiny.

Their plan was to go to the Iwagakura headquarter, posing as two representatives from Kumogakure, the land of Lightnings ninja village. They had both changed their appearance with a henge jutsu, on the surface Kakashi had two normal eyes, brown hair and an ordinary face with no mask. He felt Narutos glances and he knew it was probably odd to see him walking around without it in broad daylight. Naruto on the other hand had dark brown hair, almost black, and green eyes. He also seemed to have gotten a tad taller. He was almost as tall as him now, whereas normally he reached his forehead. His whisker-scars were gone. Despite the many changes he was still attractive, his joie de vivre coming off him in gusts, a fragrance only worn by conquerors and kings.

They reached the main building where there stood groups of people, at least two in each, they made their way across the square in front of the big stairs that led up to a pair of big doors. Without a sound Naruto grabbed his elbow, smoothly stopping him. Kakashi tried to meet his gaze but it was firmly aimed at the ground, his face blank, listening intently. And then he heard it too.

"I suppose it's smart of them, really. To keep people from disguising themselves."

Naruto looked up, eyed him questioningly, Kakashi looking back with his eyebrows furrowed.

_I didn't know that either. _

He tugged on Kakashis arm and he followed him willingly as he led him astray. His captor stopped by a little shrub, away from the rest, and let go of him.

"Their were talking about someone in their team who had used a henge jutsu, and as soon as he'd walked through the doors it vanished."

"For security. They can't afford to have people using disguises. It probably costs a lot of energy to maintain it, but if they're more or less forced to..." His voice trailed off.

"I guess we have no choice but to go as ourselves?" Naruto asked, and he thought for a second.

Neither of them had had any business here, so they shouldn't be recognized. Then again, there was hardly a shinobi out there that hadn't heard of Naruto Uzumaki, Konohas valued hope and, fate willing, the future hokage. He suppressed a faint glimmer of anxiety that always made itself known when he thought in those terms. _He's not his father. _Even if they by some miracle didn't recognize Naruto he himself had a pretty distinct look, directly linking him to his father and his deeds. Not either of them had been particularly lucky when it came to family legacies; Naruto was left with a demon and Kakashi with a knife.

"It's hardly the best solution but I think we'll have to go as we are, yes."

"Genjutsu?" Naruto offered.

Kakashi pondered it.

"We could try, but if they have disguise-detecting wards then there is at least the possibility of some sort of anti-genjutsu wards too. If we're found out they're not gonna be happy." He was glad he'd at least come with a suggestion. "Any other place I would have tried it though."

Naruto nodded, looked around. No one seemed particularly interested in what they were doing and he released the henge quietly. Kakashi did the same thing and felt a waft of familiar emotions arise when he saw the golden strands of hair peeking out from under Narutos hood. The younger man once again stared curiously at his face, hoping that he'd somehow lost his mask in dealing with the jutsu. He was in for a disappointment though, as Kakashi made certain that it was where he'd left it. Narutos eyes narrowed.

"I'll see it some day."

Kakashi chuckled. "I bet you will. Let's go."

The blond sighed, once, now resolved. They went closer, took in the majestic facade with its many windows and grand entrance. The building had been built into the mountain, a feat only mastered by the Iwagakure nin . Naruto held his breath as they passed through the black doorway but nothing happened. There were corridors on both sides but the hallway continued forward and so did they. There was no telling that they were inside the mountain, the interior was lavishly decorated, far from the normally sparse design of the rest of the city. He felt Naruto tense beside him as they walked, sniffing out possible danger like the finest wild animal. No going back now. The doors were open behind them but might as well have been bolted shut. They reached another pair of black doors, not quite as large but still much taller than him. On the wall to the right it said "reception room" and he knew they were headed in the right direction. He nodded to Naruto to get the other door and they pushed them open at the same time, stepping out into the unknown in unison.

* * *

Behind the doors there was a smaller area and a desk shaped like a horse-shoe. The staff consisted of a man and a woman in Iwakagure gear. They looked tired, worn and strict. Kakashi had encountered countless adversaries like them before, knew that a no-nonsense approach would be the best.

"Hello," he said, aiming for professionalism.

"We're looking for a group of Tanigakure representatives. There's a matter that needs seeing to which requires their assistance and I heard you were the best way of going about that."

The two people looked at each other. Naruto leaned forward, his expression softened, let a fatigue be seen through his usual carefree demeanor.

"Look, we wouldn't have been coming to you unless we didn't have another choice. My boss is gonna hand my head over to me on a platter if I ain't got some results to show." He looked down. "Please."

He spoke in a slight accent, had traded his usual words for some he didn't usually have in his mouth. Kakashi liked it, how easy he played the role.

They looked at him, struck or smitten or both. Kakashi heard his heartbeat in his ears.

"There's a group coming from Tanigakure two days from now. They have a meeting with one of the appointed leaders at eleven. You didn't hear it from us."

Narutos face lit up, his relief apparent.

"Oh, thank you so much, I'm real grateful, you're a lifesaver, really."

The brown-haired man waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mention it."

Kakashi decided maybe it was time that he contributed as well.

"They're pretty powerful, these guys, right?"

This time the woman nodded, she seemed a little taken with Naruto as well, he could tell from the way she eyed him just in passing, on purpose.

"They have ties to the counsel...or so I've heard."

Kakashi whistled softly, as if impressed.

"Aha, that explains why they're so popular. I only met them once briefly before, and I kinda got the feeling they had an ace up their sleeve, you know?"

Naruto chimed in with that peculiar, newly acquired drawl of his.

"I can't even imagine what it's like. I had to work for _everything_ I got. Some days I wish I could've been pampered like that too..." He looked away, wistful.

The ones listening were quiet, not doubting the sincerity in his voice, Kakashi even less so, knew that there was a foundation of truth beneath every line he served them.

Naruto shook himself to get rid of the dark thoughts.

"But I guess growing up like I did gotta count for something, right, if nothing else it makes you real grateful."

Behind the counter they both nodded solemnly, like they too were sorry he'd been brought up like that.

"Oh well," he shrugged, "we'd better get going or we're gonna earn ourselves an earful."

They both turned around to leave when the man spoke up, this time addressing Kakashi as he was the oldest.

"Is your boss interested in the seat of tsuchikage as well?"

Kakashi was quiet for a while then shrugged.

"To speak frankly, I don't think it's his main objective, but I wouldn't put it past him, no."

"Then tell your boss to save his time. Rumors have it that if everything goes well then we'll be looking at a new tsuchikage in two days."

"Really?" Naruto said. "We'll definitely keep that in mind then."

He looked at them both, smiled in a way that could rival the sun in terms of warmth.

"I don't know how to repay you, really. If you ever come to Kumogakure, ask for Nakata and I'll show you around."

They both smiled back, "that would be wonderful." the woman added.

"Thank you for everything." Naruto said and then they were finally on their way.

As they pushed the doors open they surprised a man in his forties that had been standing outside, clearly eavesdropping.

"I- I was just gonna-"

"Sure," Kakashi said, not especially worried about what he might have heard. Soon after they were out in the sunshine, drinking it in like dried out plants drinking water. Naruto almost skipped down the stairs and Kakashi hurried after. Naruto waited until they were out of earshot from the rest to start speaking. He grinned a lascivious, eager smile that made Kakashi smile too.

"How did I do?"

The need for his appraisal warmed his heart a little, made it flutter.

"You did great." and he meant it.

A born storyteller, he had something that made people want to listen, join him.

"I almost forgot that I was nervous, it was like I played a role and I could write all the lines myself."

"That's... one way of looking at it," Kakashi mused. "Have you thought about a career in ANBU?" he continued, not knowing what to expect.

Naruto didn't answer straight away, let the noises of the crowd and shops fill the tiny void between them as he thought, cover up the place devoid of words.

"I've thought about it," he said finally. "But I'm not even sure of what it is what you guys _do_."

He looked at Kakashi who struggled to come up with an answer that was both honest and yet wouldn't scare away.

"We do a lot of things." He waited to see if Naruto would press the issue. He knew he'd been as vague as usual but didn't want to elaborate with people around, streams of faces passing in the opposite direction. As if he'd read his mind Naruto said "we can talk about this later." and Kakashi nodded gratefully.

After some struggling they made it back to their room.

_Home sweet home_, Kakashi thought.

He took in the mess that they'd managed to create in no time at all.

_Or something like it._

* * *

They went through their information by the table, Kakashi making a map by writing down short notes on the vital points. Naruto became engrossed in the process, watching intently as he swiftly wrote the complex signs down. He'd learn to write "properly" as his teacher had called it, in ANBU, but he still mostly used his usual sloppy style to write mission rapports and the likes of it, driving the administrative office somewhat mad. Anything official though was graced by the more readable style of writing. And also during missions, in times like these. Writing neatly helped him focus on the most essential, which words he chose to describe it told him a great deal about how he perceived the situation, sometimes in ways he hadn't even thought about. Bisuke sighed loudly to his left and both he and Naruto woke up from the little bubble they'd been absorbed in.

"It'll take another while, and then you need to take this to Pakkun."

The ninken glared at him but didn't say anything.

"I'm _sorry_. You know I'd let you go back if I could."

Naruto had been watching them as they spoke, seemingly wanting something but too shy to ask for it. Kakashi pretended as if he hadn't seen anything but kept watching him out of the corner of his eye and continued writing. He saw as he conquered his insecurity, stretched a hand out towards Bisuke, questioningly, to see if anyone protested. He stopped himself, turned towards Kakashi.

"May I?"

"Maa, you'd have to ask him," he said, smiling inwards as he knew that Bisuke would love it. His dogs may have been trained to assist shinobi, and by extension him, from an early age, but they were still a large part... dog.

Naruto repeated his question and the dog sighed and grumbled a little. "_Fine_."

Naruto scooted closer and patted him on the back, ran his fingers through the soft brown fur, after a while the motion became absentminded, as if the monotonous motion allowed his thoughts to wander. Bisukes eyelids got heavy as he became calm and relaxed. Kakashi shook himself from his watchful suspension, got back to writing.

Some time later he had finished up and by then Bisuke had fallen asleep, his head resting on the table. Naruto scratched him behind his ear, pleased as the entire dog leaned towards him, into his hands. He laughed. "You liked that, didn't you?" At the sound of his voice Bisuke woke up and realized he was acting like a lovesick puppy. He looked embarrassed, looked away, facing the window. "Tch."

* * *

After Bisuke had been sent off with sharp reminders to dispose of the scroll right after Pakkun had read it, Kakashi stood and stretched to make the his tense muscles come loose. Naruto looked at him then looked away. Kakashi felt a slight warmth color his cheeks, didn't want Naruto to think he was showing off, putting himself on display.

"I'm a little hungry. What do you say we go and get something to eat?"

Naruto got up too.

"Ugh, I thought you'd never say it."

Had he been hungry for that long? And he hadn't wanted to say anything?

"I'm sorry for making you wait," he said.

Silence. "You know, I'm pretty sure I saw a ramen place on our way back..."

"Really?"

Kakashi found it endearing the way his face lit up, unabashedly.

They went out feeling revived, glad to be somewhere where the air was clean and high. To his relief the ramen place was where he remembered it. Naruto ordered miso ramen and Kakashi settled for shoyu ramen. They both sat down in a booth in the far back, the last table available. There were a lot of people, talking, cracking jokes and having a good time.

"Thish feelsh jusht like home," Naruto said, his mouth full of noodles. Kakashi hummed in agreement, he'd just emptied his bowl and was now feeling rather over-fed. He was still not comfortable with Naruto seeing his face, and despite the fact that no one looked at them twice it would still be a bad idea to pull the mask down in public. To an untrained eye he was an exact copy of his father, the infamous Hatake Sakumo. He had had longer hair, broader shoulders, a generally more stern approach to things. His father had been absent a lot during his childhood, until the day when he'd ended his misery and became absent for good. It had taken many years but now he could finally think about it without becoming overwhelmed. Instead he felt a faint annoyance, like the smell of damp air in a boarded up house. He wasn't mad at him, no, but he was mad at him for leaving in such a cowardly way. _Then again..._he reasoned, while he looked down on the hands that looked just like his fathers, he'd been told, and Naruto was still gobbling down his ramen with a content expression. _Maybe_, he thought, _maybe I would've done the same thing. _He couldn't imagine what it was like, having the entire village turn the back on you. He'd tried to tell himself that it had been a different time back then, more barbaric, people's spirits surely must have been ravaged by war to allow such treatment to happen. He'd used to think like that, but now he wasn't so sure. Their time had seen wars too. Konoha had practically been leveled by Pein not too many years ago. If the same thing had happened to him, there would be no telling what he'd do, how he'd respond.

_No friends, no family, no job, hated by everyone. _

He looked across the table. Naruto had no more noodles left and was finishing the soup. He somehow doubted Naruto would turn his back on him. Warning signs appeared in his mind, trying to beat some sense into him. He felt how ridiculous the thought was but thought it through to the end, despite that. He put his chopsticks down, now absorbed by the thought as he realized how true it felt against his skin, a simple knowing.

_I trust you._

He trusted him not to abandon him.

* * *

When they were back in the hotel room he called for Bisuke again, to see if he had any news from Pakkun, or if he'd been able to put something else together from the information he'd been given. Kakashi only summoned all of his ninken if he was in Konoha or truly didn't have another choice. His chakra level was something to be monitored, to keep tabs on, since it couldn't be replenished just like that, and could change the whole outcome of a fight. It bothered him to no end to not be able to go all out in most fights. When he did he ended up in the hospital, without fail. He'd rarely encountered anything as humiliating as being carried back to Konoha on Gais back. His friend thought nothing of it other than that he was glad he could help, but it still stung in him whenever he thought about it. When he was out of chakra he could be likened to a wrung out rag, completely dry.

In situations like these he was sure never to summon more than one or two, or it might affect his combat readiness. These kinds of missions were especially treacherous, because _right now_ things were calm. In an hour he might be fighting. There was no telling what might happen.

Bisuke showed up. Pakkun had nothing of value to add.

The day had passed without problems, which he was grateful for. Tomorrow might be different though. Despite not being especially sleepy they had gone to bed. It was dark in the room, a dull, gray outlook lingered between them.

"If our information is correct, there might be hostiles showing up tomorrow," Kakashi said. He could barely make out Narutos face a few meters away from his.

"Hm? … Oh right, even more people who's after the scroll."

"They might know who to look out for, or at least that Konoha sent its own people after it."

"So I should be more careful than usual?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Did you know my parents?"

Quiet.

He didn't know what to answer.

"Well... sure." He knew that Naruto knew that Minato had been his sensei. So why did he ask?

"Can you tell me about them-, just a little, I mean." Naruto said, hesitantly, as if he was afraid of dragging in dirt into their conversation.

"Maa, it was a long time ago," he said, to excuse himself in advance for any mistakes he could make, for telling him something that wasn't true. During the years his memories had become jumbled and now he wasn't sure of which piece that fit where. He decided to begin with what he remembered most clearly, something that he had thought about not many hours ago.

"Kushina was great at telling stories. A little too good sometimes, I don't know how many times she managed to scare me with ghost stories or old tales or, um, myths. People listened when she talked. And she could outsmart your dad in a discussion any day. She was very stubborn when she'd made up her mind, and he could be too. He was a bit scatter-brained, your dad."

Kakashi had rolled onto his back as he spoke, and now he could almost see them in front of him, alive and laughing.

"Please go on," Naruto said.

He did so.

"They both felt very strongly about justice, about doing what was right. Minato did the dishes, and he cleaned too, every once in a while. He had a lot of paperwork but often left it unfinished to deal with the next day." He thought of something else, chuckled. "When they just started seeing each other, you know, for real, I couldn't have been more than eight by then, but I remember it so well, seeing them together, and I remember thinking _how come sensei looks so happy?_ And then-"

He paused, listened to the heavy, regular breathing in the bed next to his. He rolled over, so that he was on his side again, heard some sort of commotion on the street, probably by the bar. He'd never talked to anyone about what he recalled of his sensei and Kushina. He hoped that they were together, wherever they were.

_I think you would be glad if you saw him. _

_I think you would be proud._

_I am._


End file.
